When comedian Ashely Gavin announced a Northampton stop on her tour on Oct. 1, I knew I had to go. I first saw Gavin scrolling on my TikTok “For You” page a few months ago. In this first short clip, Gavin describes a conversation with a contestant on The Bachelor who slid into her Instagram DMs (Direct Messages). It led me on a deep dive into her TikTok page, building my excitement for her stop at the Academy of Music. Her performance offered not only two hours of laughs but also unique insights on recently having a changed reputation in the world of social media cancel culture.
The show started off strong. Gavin jumped right in about her experiences with catcalling, oversharing on the internet (especially on her We’re Having Gay Sex podcast) and floundering with gender-neutral dirty talk — trading “good girl” for “good person.”
Gavin frequently referenced “getting canceled” throughout her set. While many audience members — myself included — had heard about the story, Gavin candidly described the “out of context” interaction while doing crowd work this past summer, and the extreme backlash she received on social media because of it. She recalled the death threats sent to her from both the far right and left. Her girlfriend and family were ruthlessly cyberbullied as well.
This part of the show slowed down the atmosphere in the room. It was not merely joke after joke; it was deeply vulnerable and personal. I found it surprising that she volunteered to bring it up. However, it makes sense that she would address it because if someone searches Gavin’s name on TikTok or Instagram flood of videos pop up about it; making it impossible to avoid.
Still, her recent brush with getting canceled didn’t stop her from doing crowd work. Gavin selected “Matthew” from the audience to be the night’s designated straight man and did not give him a break throughout the entire show. Gavin had Matthew working over time, with Gavin taking every opportunity to “educate” Matthew on the ways of queer sex.
The night concluded with Gavin workshopping new material about her cancellation. Diving into this dark period of her life was not the way I thought the show would go. It was deeply raw and reflective. Rather than offer a half-hearted explanation or an apology, Gavin let the audience into her life, explaining the trauma of cancel culture firsthand.
When the show’s tone shifted towards the end as Gavin focused on her “cancellation,” the audience fell silent. We were part of this very sensitive moment and everyone was on the edge of their seat. It went from a comedy show to a group of friends listening to another’s grief. The show ended on this somber note, one unlike any comedy special I had seen before. The whole show worked because of Gavin’s vulnerability — she was not afraid to talk about her mixed reputation.
The audience reacted positively to Gavin’s story of her first orgasm until faltering when it led to a series of strange jokes about a roommate’s abortion story. There were of course jokes about Smith College, Gavin having attended Bryn Mawr and Gavin’s “7th grade boy” wardrobe was discussed at length.
Even walking back to Smith College, I heard attendees retelling their favorite bits and one liners. The audience was in the palm of her hand and Gavin did not disappoint. Gavin bounced back from controversy with this hilarious and personal show. She successfully balanced providing hilarious anecdotes while navigating an incredibly sensitive story.
